Up
by Kamaevis
Summary: A Supernatural AU based on the first 8 minutes of Disney-Pixar's Up. Destiel. AU.


Castiel scurried along the sidewalk, arms out, goggles on, and balloon bobbing behind him as he zigzagged across the pavement. His imagination ran rampant as he pretended to leap across gorges and soar over mountains. These times were his favorite, when he could be alone with his thoughts and let them carry him far away. Gabe and Balthazar would be teasing him if they were around and Michael would be sneering and Anna would be rolling her eyes, and everything was just better when Castiel was away from his brothers and sisters.

He paused before a particularly large crack and stared at it for a long moment. Then he closed his eyes, inhaled, and whispered,

"Charles Muntz stops in front of the Grand Canyon and then leaps across!" He jumped with both feet, landing on the other side with a triumphant grin, "And he does it! Advent-"

"Adventure is out there!"

Castiel startled because that certainly wasn't his voice. He looked around the empty street, searching for the origin of his favorite catchphrase. His lips pursed when he found no one around—perhaps Gabe had followed him and was picking fun. Again.

But then he heard a poor imitation of a dog bark and whirled around to face a rickety old house with boarded up windows and an open front door. He waited a moment, unsure about whether he'd _actually_ heard the voice in there until,

"You're right, boy! That is Mount Everest!"

Equal parts anxious and excited about a fellow adventurer, he hurried toward the front door, hopping up the steps and sneaking inside. It was dusty and rickety, but he could hear the voice continuing on its adventure through one of the doorways just to his right. He crept up as quietly as he could manage and peeked around the doorway.

Standing at the window, little hands on a ramshackle, handmade steering wheel, was a boy who was probably a couple of years younger than Castiel. He had short blonde hair and his clothes were dirty and too big, but Castiel could see his profile and he was grinning broadly as he called out directions to nobody. Framed by the sun streaming through the windows, he was the most beautiful thing Castiel had ever seen.

But Castiel leaned a little too far and stumbled forward, barely catching himself but causing quite a ruckus anyway. The boy turned around quickly, green eyes locking onto Castiel before narrowing sharply, his earlier smile vanished into thin air.

"Who're you?" He demanded, advancing on Castiel with his hands balled into fists at his side. Castiel backpedaled quickly—he'd never been one for confrontation—and his back thudded against the staircase as his hand released his precious balloon and let it float up through a hole in the ceiling and out of site. The boy didn't stop his charge until he stood right in front of Castiel, he was a few inches shorter but Castiel was pretty sure that he would pack a mean punch, anyway.

"_Well?"_ the boy demanded, but he didn't give Castiel a chance to answer, "I said who're _you?_ Dontcha know y' can't just walk into someone else's hideout uninvited? Just 'cause y' have some fancy goggles don't mean we're friends or nothin'!"

Castiel blinked once, twice, and when the boy didn't continue, he said, very quietly, "Adventure is out there."

Castiel had never seen anyone's entire demeanor change so quickly. Not even Gabe's. Suddenly, the boy was grinning from ear-to-ear again, eyes sparkling and crinkled at the edges from the sheer force of it.

"You know Charles Muntz?" He asked, rocking back on his heels in excitement, "Most kids don't know 'bout him and m' dad says he's too m-machure for me. But you know 'im?"

Castiel nodded, "I just came back from the theater-"

"You saw his _film?"_ The boy was actually bouncing now, "I've been savin' up to go see it! I've got fifteen cents saved up already!"

Castiel smiled, unsure of what to say but enjoying how happy the boy seemed to be. When Castiel didn't reply or say anything, the kid deflated a little, drawing in a bit on himself.

"Uh, d'ya, d'ya wanna be in my club?" He fiddled with the sash draped over his shoulders nervously, "I- I'm the only member."

Castiel nodded hurriedly because he didn't want the boy to look so sad. He perked right back up, pudgy fingers fumbling with one of the buttons on the sash and popping it off. He grabbed at Castiel's shirt and pinned it right on without asking, but Castiel found that while it irritated him when Gabriel did something like that without permission, he didn't mind this kid doing it.

"Welcome to Dean's Adventure club!" He said, grinning, "Oh! I know where your balloon went! C'mon!"

The kid—Dean, presumably—grabbed Castiel's hand and practically dragged him up the stairs and then up a ladder into the attic. Castiel's balloon hovered against the ceiling across the room and the only way over was a single wooden plank. Castiel swallowed thickly and looked at Dean who was still smiling away.

"Go on!" Dean said, waving him forward, "It's okay, I go over there all the time!"

Castiel nodded, not wanting to be a disappointment when he'd only just befriended Dean. He took a careful step onto the plank. It creaked a little but seemed sturdy enough. Halfway across, Castiel realized his mistake. Dean was smaller than him and probably weighed less.

The board shuddered and splintered and Castiel went plummeting down to the first floor.

—

Later that night, Castiel sat in his bed with a book open on his lap, his left arm stuffed into a blue cast covered in crude drawings by Gabriel and Balthazar. He'd spent most of the afternoon in the ER after Dean had walked him home, apologizing the whole way. The both of them had stood on Castiel's porch, tears streaming down their faces, and Michael had sent Dean home before driving Castiel to the hospital.

So now Castiel was alone in his bedroom and Dean probably wouldn't like him anymore because he was such a baby and had already gotten his new friend in trouble with Michael. Of course, Michael didn't really like anyone but his friend Adam, but _still._

He was about to start a new chapter in Harry Potter when something knocked against his book, and he jumped a few inches off his bed, his cast smacking him in the forehead. When he opened his eyes again, he found his balloon floating in front of him, tied to a hunk of wood that looked suspiciously like the plank from the attic.

A little cough made him look to his open window—Dean was peeking in shyly, a little smile on his lips and a pair of glasses perched on his nose.

"Hello, Dean," Castiel said, stamping down his excitement, "You brought my balloon back."

The little boy nodded, "Uh, sorry 'bout your arm. My dad was real mad when I told him, and he said I should 'pologize again. I was s'pposed t' come t'morrow but I couldn't wait."

Castiel smiled warmly, "Thanks, Dean. Do you, uh, do you want to come in?"

Dean grinned, his mood already better, "I got somethin' t' show ya, Cas!" He clambered through the window and hauled a large book in with him. "C'mon, c'mon, help me set up a fort! It's gotta be _secret_."

Ten minutes, two blankets and three flashlights later, Cas was laying on his stomach with his legs sticking out of the fort and Dean was cross legged in front of him, the large book between them. It was huge and leatherbound, decorated colorfully with the words _My Adventure Book._

"Cas," He said, very seriously, and Castiel didn't even mind the nickname, "I have never shown this to anyone. _Ever._ Not even _Sammy."_

Cas didn't know who Sammy was, but he understood the seriousness of Dean's admission. He nodded seriously.

Dean returned the nod and then opened the book. The first page was a drawing of the house where they'd met, but it was all fixed up and colored with vibrant blues and greens and pinks.

"This is the clubhouse," Dean explained, "I'm goin' t' fix it when I grow up! You can help now that you're part of th' club."

He turned to the next page, where a picture of of Paradise Falls was glued in.

His voice dropped low and he looked about conspiratorily, "I ripped this outta a libary book."

Cas gasped, and that made Dean grin.

"I'm gonna go there someday. You can come, too, if y' want. I just…" His brow furrowed and his lips pursed, "I dunno how I'm gonna get there."

"Just a sec," Cas said, wiggling backwards and out of the fort. He darted across his room to his dresser and got up on his tip toes to grab his model blimp that Anna had gotten him for his birthday.

He hurried back and squirmed back beneath the blankets, offering the little model to Dean, whose face and eyes brightened.

"A blimp!" He cried, taking it gingerly from Cas's hands, "That's _genius. _When we're big, you gotta takes us there in a blimp, alright, Cas, you gotta _promise._Cross your heart!"

Cas nodded, lifting his chest a bit so he could cross his heart with his free hand.

Dean grinned, handed the blimp back and then returned to his book, flipping through the rest of the empty pages. "These'll be our 'ventures, okay?"

Cas nodded, "Okay."

Dean closed the book again and smiled at Cas, "'m glad I met you, buddy. Y' don't talk much, but I like you. Now I gotta go home before dad sees that I'm gone. Will you come to the clubhouse tomorrow?"

Cas nodded again and watched as Dean slipped out of the fort. He crawled out as well just in time to see Dean disappearing out the window with a wave of his little hand.

—

Cas and Dean stayed friends for years, even despite Michael's distaste. John, Dean's dad, loved having Cas around, and Sam, who Cas found out was Dean's little brother, took to him easier than he did most strangers. They grew up together and grew closer every year. Even when they grew out of their adventuring days, they stayed in the clubhouse, hanging out there as teenagers when they no longer wanted to be home.

At sixteen, they went to prom together as a joke, but Cas ended up finally getting the nerve to ask Dean to be his boyfriend—a question to which Dean readily agreed with an excited kiss since he had always been a slave to impulse.

At twenty-one, Dean stuttered his way through a proposal, his face flushed so darkly that his freckles blended in with the rest of his cheeks. And his hands were shaking so badly that he dropped the ring and nearly lost it. Castiel found it to be completely adorable and completely perfect.

They married in a small chapel with hundreds of balloons because, since their first meeting, they'd both affiliated balloons with each other. Additionally, Castiel's job selling them at the zoo got them a large discount. Cas's family actually showed up, which was a nice surprise, even if the only people actually excited to be there were Gabe, Balthazar and Anna. Dean's family was much more colorful. His father and brother showed up, along with his uncle Bobby and Aunt Ellen, his cousin Jo and his brother's fiance, Jess. It was a small ceremony, but Castiel wouldn't have had it any other way.

They fixed up the old club house, Dean insisting they paint it exactly like his childhood drawing. And when Dean admitted, shyly, that he still wanted to go to Paradise Falls, Cas was all too ready to agree to it. It was still a beautiful place, and if it made Dean happy, it would make Cas happy.

But then they decided to adopt one day during a picnic on their favorite hill. Dean was thrilled at the prospect of being a dad, and Castiel was thrilled that Dean was thrilled. So they put in the papers. Dean spent hours on the phone with adoption agencies, discussing the children, their living arrangements, their jobs, how much income they brought in yearly. They were pretty well off, and with Dean home all the time as an author, Castiel figured they were a shoe-in. He was sure of it.

Well, he was sure of it until they received the paper in the mail stamped with a bold red _REJECTED._ Dean stared at the paper with wide eyes. He sat at the table for hours on end, just staring at it. He barely ate, barely slept. For weeks, he was a shell of his former self, and it shattered Castiel's heart to see him that way. There was nothing he could do, no way he could make it better. One morning, when Dean was seated at the dining room table, staring out the window with glassy eyes, Castiel sat down across from him, took his hands, and asked him to accompany him to Paradise Falls.

It would be a costly trip, and they would have to save for a long, long time, but it was worth it to see the smile on Dean's face and the light in his eyes once again.

A year and a half later, Cas had enough money. He kept it from Dean, wanting to surprise him on their anniversary. He bought the tickets and tucked them into the picnic basket, terribly excited. Everything was going to get better. Dean was going to be happy again.

But then Dean collapsed, and Cas realized that nothing was going to be okay again.

—

Castiel released the balloon, watching it float from his hands and toward his husband. It tapped against Dean's Adventure Book, and he looked up, a smile curving his lips. He was thin and frail, but his eyes were brighter than they'd been in years. He closed his book and looked at Cas, holding out a hand toward him.

Cas entered the room and took Dean's hand in his, his heart breaking at how fragile it felt under his fingers. He lifted it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to the knuckles.

"Hey, Cas," Dean said, voice rough and strained because it was painful for him to speak.

"Hello, Dean," Cas murmured, sitting on the bed beside him.

Lung cancer. Brought to him by his father's smoking habit, which had taken him a few years earlier. It wasn't fair. None of it. Dean shouldn't be suffering here, Cas shouldn't be losing the love of his life. Tears slid down his cheeks as a broken sob tore from his throat. Dean held him as he cried and it wasn't _fair._

—

Weeks later, Castiel sat alone in an empty church, a balloon clutched in his hand. He closed his eyes as tears spilled down his cheeks, and he whispered,

"Goodbye, Dean. Have a wonderful adventure without me."


End file.
